The Arkansas Department of Education has applied for a waiver from provisions in the No Child Left Behind law.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported the state is asking the federal government to excuse it from a provision that requires all public school students to achieve at grade level on math and literacy exams by 2013-14.

Arkansas' proposal is aimed at reducing the gap between the percentage of students scoring at grade level and 100 percent proficiency. For example, if 76 percent of students scored at grade level in 2011, then the gap would be 24 points. To cut that gap in half, a school would need to increase its numbers to 88 percent proficient within six years.

Eleven states that applied for waivers last year were recently approved.